Arsenal fans rage as Man City star escapes red card for swinging jab – 'Is punching allowed?'

Arsenal supporters have been left fuming after Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva escaped a red card during Saturday's clash with Brentford. Pep Guardiola's side secured a 3-0 win over the Bees to close to within just two points of Mikel Arteta's side. The Gunners could restore a five-point cushion with victory at West Ham United on Sunday (4:30pm). However, they had hoped to extend their advantage further after City's match against European hopefuls Brentford at the Etihad Stadium, before goals from Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush wrapped up all three points for Guardiola's men. Arsenal fans were left even more infuriated by an incident in the opening half involving Silva. The Portuguese midfielder became embroiled in a scuffle inside the box, taking exception after being crowded out near the touchline. The 31-year-old, who is set to depart City this summer, tumbled under pressure from defender Nathan Collins and appeared to strike the back of his leg. Collins raised his hands to protest his innocence as Silva leapt to his feet and continued to square up to him, before Nico O'Reilly stepped in to intervene. JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest news, analysis and much more on Mirror Football's Facebook page VAR briefly reviewed the incident but quickly concluded the contact was insufficient to merit a red card, and did not direct referee Michael Salisbury to consult the pitchside monitor. Gunners fans subsequently vented their anger on social media platform X. "Is punching allowed now?" one user questioned. "There's no way an Arsenal player gets away with that. We'd have every pundit in the country saying he was stupid and deserved a red," another insisted. One fan wrote: "If that was Arsenal any player within a 20m radius would have been sent off." Another supporter chimed in: "I don't want to see any City fans complaining about Gabriel's non-red card on Haaland.. Silva has struck out with a fist and only received a yellow." Arsenal know the title remains firmly within their grasp, with three victories from their remaining three fixtures enough to clinch a first league championship since 2004. Arteta addressed the media in his pre-match press conference on Friday, discussing how past experiences could prove invaluable to his squad following three successive runners-up finishes. He said: "I think there is something that is related to your intuition. "What the game is going to require, the state of the players, the way you can imagine the game and where the players can have the most impact. And then you can get it right or wrong, you never know. "But if you do what you feel, at least you have the certainty that you've done the preparation, you've done the thinking, and when it comes time to deliver, that's something else."